Family Portrait
by SavannahBanna
Summary: The Weasley family. They're known for their extensive list of family members on their family reunion invitation lists. They're known for lots of flaming red hair and freckles. Their known for having countless Gryffindors in their ranks. But there are things not everybody knows about the Weasley family.
1. Rules

**A/N - This one-shot collection is not exactly that. It is a story exploring the relationships of the various Weasley family members. It is basically my canon and though it is not linear it all falls into the same universe. I've been really inspired while writing this and really hope you enjoy my take on the the NextGen Harry Potter world. **

Silence fell on the room rather quickly. All those that had been causing the noise, or animated discussion as Vic's mother Fleur had put it, had vacated the room. Now Teddy was left alone. He couldn't decide if this was a good turn of events or a rather frightening one. At first Vic had wanted to keep their relationship a secret. She had told Teddy that she was afraid her parents might not approve. Then she would shrug it off airily saying that secret romances were much more fun. Teddy wasn't sure. He knew very well that all secrets come out eventually and he didn't want to be separated from Vic when the secret was found out. Still she hadn't listened and their secret had carried on out even longer than he would have liked.

"Hey, Wolf Boy."

The words that shocked him out of his thoughts were rather cold and when Teddy turned to investigate he found Dominique Weasley standing before him. It felt as if her narrowed eyes were cutting into him and she continued to stare. Teddy stared back, not really fazed by the fifteen year old girl much. Her nickname of 'wolf boy' made him clench his jaw slightly but the girl didn't seem to notice.

"You're in trouble" she observed. "Or Vic is at least but I guess by extension that means you are too."

Teddy just shrugged and stuffed his hands into his pockets. He gave off this air of carelessness but inside he knew she was right. After their slip up earlier in the year at Kings Cross things changed dramatically. When James saw something he thought was interesting you could bet your most prized possession without worry that it was going to spread like wildfire. It did and although the two hadn't been in grave trouble at once due to Vic being at school, now that they were home for the holidays they weren't going to hear the end of it.

Dominique moved towards the couch. Teddy looked at the seat beside her for a moment and wondered it if would be acceptable to sit. He was given no indication so he simply stayed where he was.

She continued almost immediately. "They think you're too old" she informed him. "They think you're too old and she's not mature enough to keep up with you. And-"

"What are they talking about?" Teddy said, defensively. "It's not like I'm in my forties. I'm nineteen for Merlin's sake. And Vic's seventeen. What's wrong with that?"

What did her maturity have to do with it anyway? What was she not mature enough for? Were they worrying about-?

"Sex." It was as if Dominique could read his mind. Teddy's eyes widened as he looked at her figure on the couch. "They're worried about sex. It doesn't matter that I know for a fact Dad was doing it at your age because Uncle George told me he walked in on him once."

All of a sudden Teddy's mind was bombarded with disturbing images of Vic's father doing things he had never wanted to imagine Vic's father doing. It was all rather unsettling and without even thinking he sank down into the couch opposite Dominique weakly. She simply rolled her eyes at him and continued speaking.

"They think you'll corrupt her innocence because you've had heaps of girlfriends before and people think you're good looking and they've seen you smoking" she said. "And poor Victoire is too perfect for any of that. She's going to take after her mother and be successful and perfect and beautiful and everybody's got to love her but not you!"

Throughout this little speech Dominique had begun to speak faster and faster. Her hand movements had become quicker and quicker and she seemed to be working herself up into a state. When she was finished she looked away from him quickly, biting her lip and digging her fingernails into the palm of her hand. Teddy was struck a little dumb. Was she upset? Was she upset because of Teddy and Victoire or was it something else? Feeling a wash of genuine compassion for his girlfriends little sister he moved over to the couch beside her.

Quietly he said, "And what about you? What are you going to do?"

Dominique shrugged. "Take after my Daddy and be the tough one" she muttered, not even bothering to cover up the fact that she had called her father 'daddy.' "I'm supposed to be better than the boys and run my mouth and be the troublemaker…" She fell silent then and while Teddy got the feeling there was a lot more to be said, he just sat and watched her. He understood that she would speak when she wanted to just the way Vic did when she was upset or they were in a fight.

"I don't want to just be that though" Dominique whispered, barely audible. She looked up quickly as if someone from the other room was going to burst in and hear her. "I want to be little and pretty and cute. I want to have boyfriends and not just friends that are boys. I want to wear pink dresses and have guys think I'm beautiful and not just cool. But I can't have that because Vic already does."

Silence fell again but it was comfortable this time, like no more needed to be said. Taking a deep breath Teddy shifted himself a little closer to the girl beside him. He put a soft hand on her back and patted it hoping he wasn't making things awkward. He thanked Merlin that she wasn't crying because he really would have no idea how to deal with that. She was sniffling a little but no full on tears.

She was right, too. Teddy had always seen Dom as one of the guys. Sure, she was beautiful just like her siblings and mother but she didn't use it in the same way. Instead she hung around with the guys. She wasn't a mystery so none of them bothered to chase her. Teddy had seen her climb trees as a child while Victoire sat a few meters away in a pretty dress and ate cookies. He had seen Dominique playing Quidditch with her friends while Victoire talked about boys in a rather giggly manner with hers. But he had never imagined that Dominique was more than that.

"I think you're beautiful" he told her, breaking the silence. "So do all of those other boys. They just don't know how to treat you like you are, I guess." Teddy hoped this was the right thing to say. He had really had no experience comforting people like this. Vic never wanted him to comfort her. Sometimes he thought she had too much pride for that.

Dominique sniffed. "Thanks" she mumbled. Then she looked up at him, the stern look had returned to her eyes. "There are rules, you know."

"Rules about what?" Now he was confused.

"There are rules about dating my sister. These are my rules, not my parents." She stood up and faced him, hands on her hips. This was a complete one eighty from the vulnerable Dom he had seen a second ago.

"Alright" he accepted, sitting up to face her. "What are these rules then?"

"No taking her to those stupid parties I know your friends throw. That's not her scene and if you try to make it her scene then you'll be in trouble. If for some really good reason you do take her to some place that serves alcohol you will not get her drunk, do you hear me? Even if she's feeling stupidly rebellious and tries to. It's your responsibility to take care of her now, alright? I would really love it if you stopped smoking too. Mum and Dad will agree because it's extremely unhealthy for not just you but everyone around you. Make her feel special because even though it may seem like I'm super jealous of her…I want her to feel special and I know she loves you so you have to love her back. And…"

Up until this point Victoire had been speaking rather quickly and suddenly she found herself out of breath. Teddy smiled at her and despite how hard she tried to resist she found herself smiling back.

"Just don't hurt her, okay?"

Teddy nodded. "I promise."

**Written for the Connect the Weasley's Challenge on the Harry Potter Challenges forum.**


	2. Shiver

**A/N - I have a lot of inspiration right now. This chapter was based on the prompt 'shiver' and this entire thing just came out onto the screen. It was far more simplistic than I expected it to be but I think that fit for Albus' mind and the story itself. Anyway, since you don't want to read about my creative process...enjoy. **

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"James, do you know where Lily is? It's far too late for her to be running around and doing whatever she likes."

Albus could hear that his mother sounded panicked. You always knew when she was panicked because her voice raised in pitch and she would move around frantically even as she was holding a conversation. Most of the time the Potters' mother was panicked about Lily, the youngest and tonight was no exception.

Without even looking up from whatever it was he was doing, Albus watched as James shrugged. "I've no idea, Mum. Sorry" he said, though he sounded more distracted than sorry.

It was then that his mother turned to him. "Albus?" she asked.

The truth was that Albus was a terrible liar. Everybody knew this. He hesitated too long, he stammered, his face grew hot and red. Basically, it was just generally bad. But he had to lie. He had to lie for Lily because he knew she wanted to be left alone.

Because the truthful answer was, yes; Albus did know where Lily was.

Albus always knew where Lily was. In fact, he was surprised the rest of the family hadn't cottoned on by now. She was where she always was. Whether she was upset, angry, crazily excited—she always went to the same place.

But Albus couldn't say that. So he did the best he could for Lily and gave a non-committal shrug as James had done. He had been worried his mother might inquire a little more but instead she gave a great heaving sigh and left the room. Once she was gone Albus gave his own great sigh…of relief. Then he stood up, causing James to look up for a fraction of a second.

"You know where she is, don't you?" he observed. What a great mind.

Instead of outright confirming, Albus just shrugged again. He knew James would get it.

"You going to talk to her then?" James asked, already having turned back to the mysterious thing he was doing before Albus had a chance to reply.

So, Albus didn't reply and instead heading out the door and into the front yard. Then he turned the corner at the swing the children never used and headed towards the also abandoned tree-house which was rather stupidly hidden behind the shed. Albus didn't even know why they had a shed that nobody used. Or a swing nobody used, for that matter. But he knew that the tree house was important. It was Lily's…and occasionally Albus' when he dared to intrude.

He had been right, of course. She was there. The night was chilly. It was almost Christmas but it hadn't snowed yet. Albus could feel the hairs on his arms standing on end in the crisp air but he ignored it. Lily sat huddled in the corner of the almost too small house. There was a blanket around her but she was still shivering. Albus wondered if these shakes were from the winter air or the confrontation she'd had with her mother earlier.

"What do you want?" Lily sniffed. So her shivers were from the fight earlier, Albus decided. Though her back was turned to him he could see her reaching up to wipe her eyes. His little sister didn't like to cry in front of people, not even Albus.

Instead of answering her immediately Albus pulled the extra blanket, which he knew Lily had dragged up here for when he joined her, over himself and took a seat next to her. He was a lot taller than she was and even whilst sitting found he had to duck his head to avoid a cracked skull.

Finally Lily looked at him.

He looked back.

"I hate her" she said.

"You don't" he replied.

"I hate you too" she said.

"You don't" he smiled.

Nothing more was said after that. Nothing more needed to be said. Lily simply let her head fall onto Albus' shoulder and he let his rest on the top of her head. Albus wished they could stay this way forever. Here he could protect Lily because the only thing she needed protection from was the cold. Down below was a completely different story. At least for now it was peaceful. Peaceful and quiet.

For now.

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**Written for the Connect the Weasleys' Challenge**


	3. Strange

**A/N - The prompt for this one was 'strange'. **

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"Let me see it."

"What? I'm not letting you read it, Rose!"

"You asked for my help."

"Only because I was desperate!"

At this Rose let out a gasp of exasperation. Around them the bustle of Kings Cross Station continued and soon Rose was going to be late for her train. Reaching out with surprising quickness she managed to snatch the letter from James' hand. He glared at her but she clasped it in her hands, unrelenting.

"Clearly you were desperate. But I can't let you give this to her unless I approve what's in it" she sighed, her tone softening a little. "You want this to be good, don't you? That's why you swallowed your pride and asked your younger cousin for help, right?"

She was doing her best to encourage him but James was simply standing there shrugging his shoulders in that idiotic way he sometimes did.

"I'm not saying you're not smart" she added. "You are. You just don't know how to string two sentences together. What if you've said something blatantly stupid and you don't even realize it? Or you've said something she might take the wrong way? I'm a girl. I have the girls perspective."

James rolled his eyes, putting his hands in his pockets. "I should have just asked Dom. She wouldn't have taken this so bloody seriously."

Rose scoffed. "Better it taken seriously than lightly. You, James Potter, don't know the first thing about romance. Look, I know you could have sex with the entire female population if you wanted to." At this, James stared at her but Rose continued. "You could have any girl you wanted. Well, almost every girl obviously. But the girl you want doesn't particularly seem to want you. So I suggest you shut up so I can read your letter and try to fix your problems."

Once she was done speaking she took a quick look around. Her mother was still busy saying goodbye to Hugo and her father was talking to Uncle Harry. Neither of them seemed to have noticed that Rose wasn't present. That was okay, she was busy.

Before her, James still appeared slightly stunned by her outburst. He was silent at least. That was okay too. It meant he wouldn't interrupt her once she started reading and she really did have to go soon. She still hadn't said goodbye to her parents and then she had to actually get on the train and find a compartment.

So, she began to read.

"It's not that good" James muttered, a last minute attempt to save his pride.

When James had come to Rose for help he had really just wanted to know what she thought Serena was thinking. This was a girl he couldn't understand. She was so many complicated things and it had been doing James' head in. However, he couldn't stop thinking about her and she clearly didn't think about him that way at all. It was irritating and he had, rather stupidly, thought that Rose might be of help. Instead she had suggested he write her a letter. He needed to be romantic, she had told him. And, again rather stupidly, James had reluctantly agreed. He had then wasted his entire Christmas thinking about it and agonizing over every single bloody word.

And now Rose would judge it.

_S, _Rose read.

"Too informal" she chastised. "It's as if you don't even care enough to use her full name." Grabbing a Quill out of her shoulder bag she quickly added the rest of the name.

_Serena, _it now said.

_My insane cousin has decided that I have issues with romance. I guess she's right. I don't do romance. I don't even know how. She says that writing letters is romantic and that my only way of getting through to you is with romance. So here goes. This is my letter. I don't actually know what to write in it._

_You're fucking gorgeous. Actually, scratch that. There's no point telling you something you already know. You know you're hot. You know guys like you. You even know I like you because, as you know, you're not stupid. So I've decided that what I'm going to do in this letter is tell you some stuff that you don't know. This should keep things interesting._

_First thing, you're a bitch. I mean, I guess you know that too but I'm going to tell you regardless. You screw with people who've done nothing to you personally because it's fun. That's twisted. You're a bitch to me when all I've done is be nice to you. Well, that's not true actually. I'm probably pretty irritating to you, so forget that. You can be as bitchy to me as you want._

_Second thing, hardly anyone actually likes you. In school most people just tolerated you or thought you were hot. Not everyone, I guess, but most people. Sorry but it's true._

_Third thing, I think you have serious psychological damage. It's true. It kind of is like what I said before. You're a bitch and I think it comes from your damage. I don't know what your problem is. I guess it's because your dad isn't really…there? I don't know. I don't get you. That's another thing you might not know. I really don't understand you at all. But I understand that you have problems._

_Last thing though, I really want to understand you. I don't say shit like this often. I don't even know what to say really. But I don't just think you're hot. I also don't just tolerate you. As much as I enjoy pissing you off…I don't want you to think of me as that annoying guy who is…well, annoying. I like you, Serena. Yeah. Weird, right?_

_Okay, bye.  
James Potter_

After finishing the letter Rose was silent for a long time. James didn't look at her and instead stared at the ground. Rose stared at the letter. For a while neither of them even heard the sounds around them. James was awaiting Roses' judgment and Rose was trying to put it into words.

At last she spoke.

"Strange."

And at last, James looked at her.

"Strange?"

Rose nodded. "But, you know what? I might actually work" she assessed and James looked surprised.

"So, it wasn't shit then?" he asked, completely astounded that she hadn't hated every syllable of it. Also, that he had managed to write a letter to someone he liked. As weird as the entire thing was, he felt kind of proud.

"No, it sucked" Rose said. She didn't repeat his word. She didn't swear. James had never heard her swear. "The writing was terrible, the structure was average at best and you wrote like a ten year old." Before James could interject she continued. "But it was kind of compelling. I think she'll like it. Maybe she'll even like you."

And with that she thrust the letter back into his hands and ran off towards her parents and awaiting train.

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**Written for the Connect the Weasleys' Challenge. **

**Also, if you read the last chapter and wondered at all what James was doing...he was writing this letter. Yeah.**


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